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UPDATE: Aug. 21, 3:07 p.m. — Conley has officially been confirmed available to play in Game 3 vs. the Nuggets. We don’t have starting lineups yet, so we’ll see if Conley slots in there in his usual spot at PG. If that’s the case, we could see Joe Ingles or Royce O’Neale go to the bench as a result.
UPDATE: Aug. 21, 10:37 a.m. — Conley will clear quarantine soon and play in Game 3 vs. the Nuggets on Friday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported this morning.
Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley Jr., is clearing quarantine soon and will be in lineup for Game 3 against Denver today, sources tell ESPN. Conley returned to Orlando on Monday night after attending the birth of his son, Elijah.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 21, 2020
UPDATE: Aug. 20, 5:12 p.m. — Conley is probable to return to the lineup Friday for Game 3 vs. the Nuggets.
Mike Conley is probable for Friday's Game 3 vs. Denver.
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) August 20, 2020
With Conley most likely back in the lineup, this is a downgrade for both Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson. Emmanuel Mudiay becomes pretty much a non-factor as well. Ingles and Clarkson are still viable as GPP plays depending on their prices for Friday on DraftKings.
UPDATE: Aug. 18, 12:30 p.m. — Conley has returned to the bubble, per the Jazz. He will go into quarantine and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to return for the first round vs. the Nuggets. The Jazz trail Denver 1-0 after a 135-125 OT loss on Monday.
Mike Conley has returned to the bubble. Jazz aren't announcing when he'll be able to return... we'll follow up on that.
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) August 18, 2020
Utah Jazz PG Mike Conley has left the NBA bubble in Orlando for the birth of his son back in Columbus, Ohio, the team announced Sunday afternoon. Conley is expected to miss at least the first few games of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets.
The Jazz announced today that Mike Conley has left the NBA Bubble in Florida to return to his home in Columbus, Ohio, for the birth of his son
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 16, 2020
So with Conley out for potentially the first few games of the series, it’s an obvious blow to the Jazz depth chart heading into a tough matchup with Denver. Conley did miss time during the regular season due to hamstring injuries, so the Jazz should be able to adjust. As a result, we should see Donovan Mitchell an Joe Ingles handle the ball more, with Emmanuel Mudiay coming off the bench as the primary backup PG.
The Nuggets are favored by 3.5 points as of now, but that should change with the news of Conley leaving. It may make Utah a more appealing play once the dust settles. Conley had been playing well, but the Jazz have the rest of their rotation intact. If the public overreacts, we could get the Jazz on the spread at a pretty good number.
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